Bath academics will represent the University and take part in the UN Climate Change Conference for 2025 (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, starting this week.
They will highlight Bath’s work to promote sustainability and international climate cooperation on governance, and showcase ActNowFilm, a project from the Institute for Policy Research.
Academics from Bath Institute for Policy Research and Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change will take part and observe at the event, which runs until Friday 21 November.
Dr Yixian Sun – head of delegation
Bath’s head of delegation, Dr Yixian Sun, will attend the conference in person, with nine further University academics attending online as accredited observers. Dr Sun is a world-leading expert on global environmental governance and currently lead a £1.7 million UKRI-funded project (SGAIN).
A Senior Lecturer in Bath’s Department of Social & Policy Sciences and a core member of Bath’s Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change, his work explains the changing role of China in global environmental governance, including sustainability transitions within China as well as sustainability impacts of China's overseas engagement. He will attend COP30 to showcase his research and strengthen collaboration with international stakeholders.
Dr Sun says: “A particular theme at this COP will likely be new leadership, in line with Brazil’s aims as host nation to bring nations in the Global South to the forefront, and following the US’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. China has been particularly active in supporting sustainability transitions in Global South countries, explaining such new dynamics and identifying opportunities and challenges are a key part of my own research.
“Making sure there is a just and fair transition for developing nations is also important. While the UK is on track to fulfil its commitments on reaching Net Zero emissions, doing an effective job of reducing its own emissions, as a rich country it could provide more financial and technical support to the global south.”
Acting as Co-Chair of the UN-supported campaign Race to Zero’s Working Group on Fairshare, Equity and Justice, Dr Sun published last week a new policy report calling for fairness and inclusion to be placed at the centre of companies’ transition plans.
At COP 30, Dr Sun will be speaking at several side-events, including:
15 November 17:15-18:30 (Hub Amazônia Legal, Green Zone): Can Brazil deliver traceable commodities?
17 November 9:30-10:45 (Legal Amazon Consortium Pavilion, Blue Zone): Sino-Brazilian experiences in forests and infrastructure
19 November 16:15-17:15 (Regional Climate Foundations Pavillion, Blue Zone): Sunrise on Distributed Renewables and Sunset on Coal Plants: Learnings for Global South
Climate and environmental governance is a key research topic at the University of Bath. Next September, Dr Sun will chair the Conference on Earth System Governance, the world’s largest annual gathering of environmental governance experts, at the University. The conference’s call for papers is now open.
ActNowFilm
ActNowFilm, a project from the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR) and Cambridge Zero, aims to highlight the value, place and importance of young people in the urgent national and global climate debates and negotiations.
First produced for COP26, the film project seeks to amplify and empower young voices in international climate negotiations. This collaboration has evolved into a wider strand of work dedicated to strengthening the climate policy skills of young people.
In 2025, the project has sought to build on the success and momentum of previous films by highlighting the work and initiatives of youth climate leaders via an online campaign. ActNowFilm also continues to run capacity building workshops for young people at global climate events, including at London Climate Action Week, the UNFCCC SB62 Bonn conference and the NYC Green School Conference at New York Climate Week. At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, ActNowFilm colleagues will present the project at:
The Children and Youth Pavilion, 11 November
The Higher Education Pavilion, 12 November
The Global Alliance of Universities on Climate Pavilion, 13 November
The team will also host the 'Decoding UNFCCC Language' workshop on 10 November, which aims to empower youth climate leaders by exploring the complex terminology used at the negotiations.